editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune , would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle . Gross, who has been host of Fresh Air since 1975, when it was broadcast only in greater Philadelphia, isn't afraid to ask tough questions. But Gross sets an atmosphere in which her guests volunteer the answers rather than surrendering them. What often puts those guests at ease is Gross' understanding of their work. "Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide where to draw the line between what is public and what is private," Gross says. "But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions. What puts someone on guard isnNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Terry GrossThu, 07 Dec 2017 03:24:15 +0000Terry Grosshttp://wamc.org
Terry GrossThe Room (2003) has been called the Citizen Kane of bad movies. Eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau wrote, directed and starred in the movie, and it has since developed a cult following. Around the country, fans flock to midnight screenings. Actor James Franco also found himself drawn to The Room . In 2014, after reading a nonfiction book about the film's creation (called The Disaster Artist) Franco knew he wanted to turn the movie's backstory story into another film. "It's a Hollywood story, but it's unusual and unlike any other," Franco says. "Some people have described this movie as if an alien came from another planet, came down and tried to recreate normal human life, and just sort of [misses] everything." Franco's new film, which is also called The Disaster Artist, is a comic behind-the-scenes take on the making of The Room. Franco directs the movie and stars as Wiseau, and he also plays Wiseau playing Johnny, the main character in The Room. Although The Disaster Artist pokes fun atJames Franco Tackles A Hollywood Story 'Unlike Any Other' In 'Disaster Artist'http://wamc.org/post/james-franco-tackles-hollywood-story-unlike-any-other-disaster-artist
175974 as http://wamc.orgWed, 06 Dec 2017 20:06:00 +0000James Franco Tackles A Hollywood Story 'Unlike Any Other' In 'Disaster Artist'Terry GrossStories about sexual harassment in the workplace have dominated the news cycle this fall, but New Yorker journalist Jane Mayer remembers a time not that long ago when even the term "sexual harassment" felt new. "Most of us really didn't know much about sexual harassment," she says. "Many of us had experienced it, but we didn't really know the name for it or how to handle it." That started to change in October 1991, when a law professor named Anita Hill testified before a Senate panel that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Thomas had been Hill's boss at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Though Hill's testimony didn't prevent Thomas from being confirmed, it did help bring the issue of workplace sexual harassment into the open. "I feel that it was the moment when — to use the phrase of today — when the country began to be 'woke' to the subject of sexual harassment," Mayer says. Mayer went on to co-writeFor Years, Anita Hill Was A 'Canary In The Coal Mine' For Women Speaking Outhttp://wamc.org/post/years-anita-hill-was-canary-coal-mine-women-speaking-out
175588 as http://wamc.orgThu, 30 Nov 2017 19:46:00 +0000For Years, Anita Hill Was A 'Canary In The Coal Mine' For Women Speaking OutTerry GrossAfter the sudden death of his wife, Michelle McNamara, in April 2016, comedian Patton Oswalt felt himself falling apart. He began drinking and eating bad food and he struggled with insomnia. "I was beginning to kind of kiss the edge during those months," he says. "I felt like I was fading out of the world ... just sort of treating myself like I had already died." But Oswalt also knew that he had to pull himself together — if not for his own sake, then for the sake of his young daughter, Alice. He turned to the one place where he could express his grief in a constructive manner: the stage. "I started going back onstage in August of that year, completely not ready and completely feeling incapable," he says. "But also I went onstage out of that feeling of, 'I don't know what else to do. This is what I've always done about everything else, and I don't have another outlet to express and work out my grief.' " Over the past year, Oswalt's life has taken a new turn. He met, fell in love andPatton Oswalt: Falling In Love Again Was Like 'Getting Hit By Lightning Twice'http://wamc.org/post/patton-oswalt-falling-love-again-was-getting-hit-lightning-twice
175331 as http://wamc.orgMon, 27 Nov 2017 21:05:00 +0000Patton Oswalt: Falling In Love Again Was Like 'Getting Hit By Lightning Twice'Terry Grosshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZT6LaAPzY Growing up in a small town in the Midwest, singer-songwriter Margo Price often wished she lived somewhere else — a place where the landscape wasn't so flat, the winters weren't so cold and the work wasn't so hard. "It just felt like there wasn't much going on," she says of her hometown of Aledo, Ill. "I always dreamed of a more romantic backdrop." Eventually, Price moved to Nashville, Tenn. to pursue music. But as time passed, her feelings towards her hometown changed. "The more I'm away, I think, the more I appreciate where I came from," Price says. "Now, when I go back, I see the beauty in it." Price writes about her family and small-town roots on her latest album, All American Made. The album is more overtly feminist and political than is typical for country music. Price says her music is an expression of herself: "From the time that I was really young, I was always trying to express what was going on in my life and inside me." Click onMargo Price Sings About The Heartache And Beauty Of Small-Town Americahttp://wamc.org/post/margo-price-sings-about-heartache-and-beauty-small-town-america
175101 as http://wamc.orgWed, 22 Nov 2017 19:16:00 +0000Margo Price Sings About The Heartache And Beauty Of Small-Town AmericaTerry GrossActress Greta Gerwig has made a career starring in movies about quirky women. She played a driftless dancer in Frances Ha and a punk photographer in 20th Century Women. Now she's written and directed her first film, an exploration of mother-daughter relationships called Lady Bird. "I don't know any woman who has a simple relationship with their mother or with their daughter," Gerwig says. "It has a tremendous amount of love — and a tremendous amount of angst." Gerwig felt Hollywood wasn't giving mothers and daughters the screen time they deserved, so she set out to change that . Her new film stars Saoirse Ronan as a high school senior who renames herself "Lady Bird," in part as a rejection of the name her mother gave her. Though the main characters argue about everything from choosing a college to prom dresses, neither is presented as the villain. Instead, Gerwig says, she wanted the audience leaving thinking, "Oh man, it's so hard to love people and to be in a family." InterviewGreta Gerwig Explores Mother-Daughter Love (And Angst) In 'Lady Bird' http://wamc.org/post/greta-gerwig-explores-mother-daughter-love-and-angst-lady-bird
174721 as http://wamc.orgThu, 16 Nov 2017 20:24:00 +0000Greta Gerwig Explores Mother-Daughter Love (And Angst) In 'Lady Bird' Terry GrossOn Oct. 5, The New York Times published an article detailing alleged sexual misconduct by film executive Harvey Weinstein that dated back nearly three decades. The article featured evidence and interviews describing a pattern in which the film producer would invite young women to a business meeting, sometimes in his hotel room, and then sexually assault or harass them. The Times investigative reporters who broke the story, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, say they worked hard to persuade Weinstein's accusers to speak to them. Twohey says she and Kantor continuously assured their sources, "We're going to work at this story as hard as we can around the clock until we get it, until we get at the truth — and then we're going to publish the truth." Since their initial article was published, Kantor and Twohey have reported new allegations against Weinstein as well as other famous men. Earlier this month, Kantor contributed to a piece detailing alleged sexual misconduct by comedian Louis C.K.'Times' Reporters Describe How A Paper Trail Helped Break The Weinstein Storyhttp://wamc.org/post/times-reporters-describe-how-paper-trail-helped-break-weinstein-story
174673 as http://wamc.orgWed, 15 Nov 2017 23:22:00 +0000'Times' Reporters Describe How A Paper Trail Helped Break The Weinstein StoryTerry GrossCopyright 2017 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air . TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. There's so much I have to learn each day in preparation for interviews that when I don't absolutely have to know something, I sometimes give myself permission not to learn about it. And that's been my attitude toward bitcoin until now. Or, to put it another way, when both Bjork and Microsoft are accepting bitcoin, it's time. So we're going to talk about what bitcoin is and how it's used in the underground and legit marketplaces, how it's become a vehicle for investors and how big banks are starting to copy it. My guest, Nathaniel Popper, is a technology reporter for The New York Times who's been covering digital currency. A couple of years ago he wrote a book about bitcoin called "Digital Gold." Nathaniel Popper, welcome to FRESH AIR. So for those of us who have never used bitcoin and don't really understand how it works, you tell me, why should we care? NATHANIEL POPPER:Once An Underground Currency, Bitcoin Emerges As 'A New Way To Track Information'http://wamc.org/post/once-underground-currency-bitcoin-emerges-new-way-track-information
174266 as http://wamc.orgThu, 09 Nov 2017 19:22:00 +0000Once An Underground Currency, Bitcoin Emerges As 'A New Way To Track Information'Terry Grosshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis knew Velvet Underground co-founder Lou Reed and considered him a friend. So when it came time to write a biography of the late singer-songwriter, DeCurtis knew exactly what kind of book he would pen. "I wanted to write a book that took Lou ... seriously," DeCurtis says. "The kind of book that I was going to write about Lou was the kind of book he deserved." As part of his research, DeCurtis interviewed many people Reed knew, including his first two wives. His biography, Lou Reed: A Life , paints a portrait of a complicated man who loved pop music, experimented with drugs and sex and had a history of domestic abuse. DeCurtis acknowledges that Reed, who died in 2013, may not have approved of all of the material in the book. But, he says, "It wasn't like I had to go looking for the drugs and the sex. Lou wrote about it. It was just out there, so I felt it was fair game." Interview Highlights OnBiographer Sought To Write The Kind Of Book Lou Reed 'Deserved'http://wamc.org/post/biographer-sought-write-kind-book-lou-reed-deserved
174185 as http://wamc.orgWed, 08 Nov 2017 19:40:00 +0000Biographer Sought To Write The Kind Of Book Lou Reed 'Deserved'Terry GrossAs the chief official White House photographer for President Barack Obama, Pete Souza had top security clearance and sat in on most meetings and major events with the president. "I was there all the time," he says. "I wasn't talking to [Obama] all the time, but I was always in every meeting and pretty much every situation that he had as president." Souza sought to minimize his presence at the White House by working with what he calls a "small footprint" — not using a noisy camera, not using flash and moving around gingerly. "I'm not sure if 'invisible' is the right word," he says. "But I was certainly trying to be a piece of the woodwork." Over the course of Obama's eight years in office, Souza estimates that he took approximately 1.9 million photos — sometimes more than 2,000 each day. His new book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, is a collection of his favorites. Interview Highlights On being in the room for sensitive White House meetings I had top security clearance, which enabled mePhotographer Pete Souza Reflects On 8 Years (And 1.9 Million Photos) Of Obamahttp://wamc.org/post/photographer-pete-souza-reflects-8-years-and-19-million-photos-obama
174092 as http://wamc.orgTue, 07 Nov 2017 18:49:00 +0000Photographer Pete Souza Reflects On 8 Years (And 1.9 Million Photos) Of ObamaTerry GrossThe chicken for sale at your local grocery store isn't like the chicken your grandparents used to eat. They're bigger and more "breasty," says public health journalist Maryn McKenna — and that's by design. "In the United States, we much prefer to eat white meat, and so we have bred chickens and genetically redesigned chickens in order for them to have a lot of breast meat," McKenna says. She attributes the change in poultry to factors like precision breeding, hormones and nutrition, but adds, "Antibiotics started this process." Many large poultry farms feed antibiotics to their chickens in an effort to prevent disease. But McKenna says that humans who eat those chickens are at risk of developing not only antibiotic-resistant gastrointestinal infections, but also urinary tract infections as well. She chronicles the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry in her new book, Big Chicken. McKenna's aim in writing the book is not to scare people away from eating poultry; rather, she hopes'Big Chicken' Connects Poultry Farming To Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria http://wamc.org/post/big-chicken-connects-poultry-farming-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria
173806 as http://wamc.orgThu, 02 Nov 2017 18:49:00 +0000'Big Chicken' Connects Poultry Farming To Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Terry GrossNew York Times columnist Lindy West knows what it's like to encounter a barrage of Internet hate. West, who often writes about feminist issues and body positivity, was "doxxed" by Internet trolls — her home address and cell phone number were posted online. But West hasn't been silenced; she continues to speak out against harassment and misogyny. In her book Shrill , she writes about learning to like her body and to insist on a place for herself in public life. "It's already pretty audacious to be a woman who presumes to have an opinion," West says. "To be a fat woman who isn't even fulfilling, like, the duties of a woman, to then also presume to be a voice of authority on something, I mean, people cannot abide." Above all, she says, "What I want is for the world to be better. ... What I want is for people to be able to thrive and be safe and be happy and productive, you know? It's not a game to me. ... It's life. It's people's lives." Interview Highlights On what it was like to beColumnist Lindy West Sees 'Straight Line' From Trolls Who Targeted Her To Trumphttp://wamc.org/post/columnist-lindy-west-sees-straight-line-trolls-who-targeted-her-trump
173715 as http://wamc.orgWed, 01 Nov 2017 20:30:00 +0000Columnist Lindy West Sees 'Straight Line' From Trolls Who Targeted Her To TrumpTerry GrossGrowing up in Pennsylvania, actor Jonathan Groff was a Disney-obsessed kid who dressed up as Mary Poppins and Cinderella and dreamed of one day performing on Broadway. Other parents might have balked at a little boy dressed in women's clothing and singing show tunes — but not Groff's mother. "She didn't bat an eye," he says. "She was all about letting us express ourselves however we wanted to, which was amazing." Groff's penchant for acting and self-expression lead him to community theater and a touring production of The Sound of Music . Eventually, he made it to both Disney and Broadway: He voiced Kristoff the ice harvester in the 2013 Disney film Frozen , and he played King George III in the Broadway production of Hamilton. Groff has also appeared in a Broadway production of Spring Awakening and he starred in the HBO series Looking . Now Groff is branching out into a new genre (crime thriller) in the new Netflix series Mindhunter. (The interview below contains some sexual content.)'Mindhunter' Actor Jonathan Groff On His Most Life-Altering Roleshttp://wamc.org/post/mindhunter-actor-jonathan-groff-his-most-life-altering-roles
173627 as http://wamc.orgTue, 31 Oct 2017 19:33:00 +0000'Mindhunter' Actor Jonathan Groff On His Most Life-Altering RolesTerry GrossGrowing up an only child in Massachusetts, humorist John Hodgman longed to be considered interesting. In high school, he grew his hair out, wore a fedora and carried a briefcase in an effort to look like Doctor Who. Hodgman says his look was modeled on "the fourth Doctor Who ... which was an emotionally terrified weirdo who is tricking people into thinking he was interesting by wearing funny clothes." Now that Hodgman is 46, being interesting has taken on a different, more reflective meaning. His new book, Vacationland , is a collection of humorous essays and personal stories in which the former Daily Show contributor reflects on his career, the death of his mother and his own experiences with white privilege. "The book is about, to some degree, moments in your life when you are faced with a sudden clarity of where you are in life," Hodgman says. "Sometimes that ... surrounds midlife, when you've maybe accomplished everything you think is most important, and ... then figuring out howJohn Hodgman Reflects On His Mother's Death And White Privilegehttp://wamc.org/post/john-hodgman-reflects-his-mothers-death-and-white-privilege
173545 as http://wamc.orgMon, 30 Oct 2017 19:26:00 +0000John Hodgman Reflects On His Mother's Death And White PrivilegeTerry GrossOn July 17, 2014, an unarmed black man named Eric Garner died on Staten Island, N.Y., after police officers threw him to the ground and put him in a choke hold. Garner's last words, as recorded on a cellphone video, were: "I can't breathe." He repeated the phrase 11 times. Although the coroner's report listed the cause of Garner's death as " homicide ," no police officer has been charged in the case. But the video of Garner's last moments helped bring national attention to the injustice black Americans face at the hands of police. "That tape had a huge impact on everything," says journalist Matt Taibbi. "It's opened the eyes — particularly of white Americans, who may not have believed that this kind of thing goes on." In his new book, I Can't Breathe, Taibbi writes about Garner's life, the police practices that contributed to his death and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. Taibbi, who is white, initially wondered whether he was the right person to tell Garner's story. But as'I Can't Breathe' Examines Modern Policing And The Life And Death Of Eric Garnerhttp://wamc.org/post/i-cant-breathe-examines-modern-policing-and-life-and-death-eric-garner
173063 as http://wamc.orgMon, 23 Oct 2017 18:46:00 +0000'I Can't Breathe' Examines Modern Policing And The Life And Death Of Eric GarnerTerry GrossAs someone who lives with obsessive-compulsive disorder, novelist John Green sometimes feels like his mind is spiraling uncontrollably. "It starts out with one little thought, and then slowly that becomes the only thought that you're able to have," Green says. "It's like there's an invasive weed that just spreads out of control." Even the idea of having OCD becomes all consuming: "I get afraid of having an illness or having some kind of contamination inside of my body," Green says, "and then I become unable to stop thinking about that." His 2012 novel, The Fault in Our Stars , was a best seller that led to a popular film about a relationship between two teenagers with cancer. After that book came out, he fell into a period of poor mental health that affected his writing. His new novel, Turtles All The Way Down, is about a 16-year-old girl named Aza who has OCD. Green says he didn't intend to create a character with OCD, but he also felt he had little choice in the matter: "I couldn'tFor Novelist John Green, OCD Is Like An 'Invasive Weed' Inside His Mindhttp://wamc.org/post/novelist-john-green-ocd-invasive-weed-inside-his-mind
172864 as http://wamc.orgThu, 19 Oct 2017 18:35:00 +0000For Novelist John Green, OCD Is Like An 'Invasive Weed' Inside His MindTerry GrossGrowing up as a first-generation Chinese-American in Northern California, novelist Amy Tan found herself pulled by two different notions of fate: Her mother was guided by beliefs in curses and luck, while her father, a Baptist minister, was guided by Christian faith. As a result, Tan says, "I am full of contradictions. ... I am full of wavering questions." Best known for novels like The Joy Luck Club and The Kitchen God's Wife , Tan explores the contradictions of her upbringing in he new memoir, Where the Past Begins. In it, she connects her own experience with spirituality to that of her parents and of her maternal grandmother. "I don't consider myself any religion," she says. "I'm not an atheist. I have an amalgam of beliefs that ... [have] to do with Christianity, a little bit with Buddhism. I observe things that make me understand people." Interview Highlights On reconciling her parents' vastly different world views Mother [was] hyper-sensitive, suicidal. Father [was] honest,'I Am Full Of Contradictions': Novelist Amy Tan On Fate And Familyhttp://wamc.org/post/i-am-full-contradictions-novelist-amy-tan-fate-and-family
172724 as http://wamc.orgTue, 17 Oct 2017 18:52:00 +0000'I Am Full Of Contradictions': Novelist Amy Tan On Fate And FamilyTerry GrossThe National Sleep Foundation recommends an average of eight hours of sleep per night for adults, but sleep scientist Matthew Walker says that too many people are falling short of the mark. "Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," Walker says. "Many people walk through their lives in an underslept state, not realizing it." Walker is the director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He points out that lack of sleep — defined as six hours or fewer — can have serious consequences. Sleep deficiency is associated with problems in concentration, memory and the immune system, and may even shorten life span. "Every disease that is killing us in developed nations has causal and significant links to a lack of sleep," he says. "So that classic maxim that you may [have] heard that you can sleep when you're dead, it's actually mortally unwise advice from a very serious standpoint." WalkerSleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'http://wamc.org/post/sleep-scientist-warns-against-walking-through-life-underslept-state
172640 as http://wamc.orgMon, 16 Oct 2017 19:05:00 +0000Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'Terry GrossIt's not uncommon for comics to be influenced by depression, anxiety or troubled childhoods, but Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon insists his comedy doesn't come from a dark place. "I was always a happy kid," Fallon says. "I remember there was a report card from kindergarten and the comment from the teacher was, 'Jimmy smiles too much,' which was very interesting. ... I think I would smile even when I was getting yelled at." That tendency to smile has stayed with Fallon. On The Tonight Show , his brand of humor is decidedly upbeat — even during tragic news cycles. "We follow the news on most channels ... and then it's our job to make fun of whatever we can make fun of, and just make you laugh as you doze off," Fallon says. "That's kind of my goal: My goal is that you have sweet dreams." Fallon also has a new children's book, Everything is MAMA , which is a follow-up to his 2015 book, Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA. The father of two says he loves being a dad and especially enjoysJimmy Fallon On The School Of 'SNL' And His Tendency To Smile Too Muchhttp://wamc.org/post/jimmy-fallon-school-snl-and-his-tendency-smile-too-much
172411 as http://wamc.orgThu, 12 Oct 2017 18:22:00 +0000Jimmy Fallon On The School Of 'SNL' And His Tendency To Smile Too MuchTerry GrossCopyright 2017 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air .Noah Baumbach Explores Love, Resentment And Anger In 'The Meyerowitz Stories'http://wamc.org/post/noah-baumbach-explores-love-resentment-and-anger-meyerowitz-stories
172334 as http://wamc.orgWed, 11 Oct 2017 18:20:00 +0000Noah Baumbach Explores Love, Resentment And Anger In 'The Meyerowitz Stories'Terry Grosshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1II7B7rjhMw Tom Petty , leader of The Heartbreakers and member of The Traveling Wilburys, died Monday night from cardiac arrest. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee was 66 years old. Petty told Fresh Air in 2006 that he drew on the music of The Byrds and The Beatles in the hopes of developing his own distinctive guitar style. "We always wanted very much to create our own sound," he said. "I tried to take whatever influences I had and make them meld together into something that was our own sound. And we somehow did that. I don't know how." Petty and The Heartbreakers had a string of hits in the late '70s — including " American Girl ," " Listen To Her Heart " and " Don't Do Me Like That " — but he told us it was his 1989 solo hit, " I Won't Back Down ," that seemed to really resonate with his fans. "It's turned out to be the one song that's had the most influence on people that approach me on the street or talk to me in a restaurant," Petty said. "It'sTom Petty To 'Fresh Air': 'The Songs Mean A Lot To People, And It Means A Lot To Me'http://wamc.org/post/tom-petty-fresh-air-songs-mean-lot-people-and-it-means-lot-me
171827 as http://wamc.orgTue, 03 Oct 2017 18:07:00 +0000Tom Petty To 'Fresh Air': 'The Songs Mean A Lot To People, And It Means A Lot To Me'